Benfica regular comes off the bench, but can't help beat Italy (1-0) | OneFootball

Vangelis Pavlidis wore the Greece national team shirt again this Sunday, in a 1-0 defeat to Italy in a friendly played on the island of Crete. The Benfica striker started the match on the bench and was only brought on in the 88th minute.

The game’s only goal came as early as the 18th minute, when Francesco Pio Esposito took advantage of an opportunity inside the box to beat Vlachodimos, the Eagles’ former goalkeeper, setting the final score before half-time.

Although the Greek side enjoyed a numerical advantage for several minutes after Italian defender Reggiani was sent off, Greece were unable to find a way back into the match. Pavlidis came on in the latter stages of the game and had little time to influence the outcome.

While he remains focused on his international duties, the Benfica striker’s name continues to stand out in the transfer market. The Greek international has attracted interest from outside Portugal, with Besiktas emerging as one of the clubs most attentive to his situation.

It should be recalled that, according to the Turkish outlet 'Turkiye Gazetesi', the Istanbul club has already submitted an offer to Benfica. The bid is around €20 million fixed, plus performance-related bonuses, although the amount falls well short of the demands of Benfica’s board to let go of one of the main figures of last season.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.